SearsKay Ruin & The Desert Foothills by Scott Wood

SEARS-KAY RUIN & THE DESERT FOOTHILLS

Scott Wood, Tonto Forest Archaeologist (retired) Friends of the Tonto National Forest

SearsKay Ruin is a developed archaeological site on the doorstep of Desert Mountain. Located just off the paved portion of the Seven Springs Road (FR 24), it is owned by the Tonto National Forest and maintained by the volunteer organization Friends of the Tonto National Forest. It is a great place to learn about the prehistory of the Desert Foothills region.

Hohokam is the name given by archaeologists to the people who once lived here. It is derived from an O’odham (Piman) word used to describe their prehistoric ancestors. Originating in the valleys of the Salt, Gila, Santa Cruz, and Verde Rivers, Hohokam culture flourished throughout central and southern Arizona from about 300 to 1450 AD. They built hundreds of miles of irrigation canals and farmed thousands of acres of corn, beans, squash, and cotton in the broad river valleys of the Sonoran Desert. They also harvested many wild plant and animal resources. Large villages and towns grew up where the modern cities of Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa,

and Tucson are today. The Hohokam also were gifted craftsmen who made a wide variety of tools and textiles for trade as well as ornate items of rare materials like shell and turquoise which they used to adorn themselves and practice their religion. Their trading partners ranged from Mexico to the Colorado Plateau.

About 750800 AD, they began to spread out to the edges of the Salt River Valley with shortterm forays seeking resources that weren’t available along the river, like agave and various kinds of stones for making tools. More permanent occupation of the area followed, especially between about 950 and 1070 AD, during a warm, wet period that would have made agriculture more reliable away from the rivers. Several large and prosperous villages grew up at the edge of the Foothills during this time, relying on both farming and trade. Small family farms and settlements also were scattered throughout the area. They built ceremonial enclosures with high stone walls on several high hills and ridges on either side of Camp Creek Wash.

A drought following that wet period changed local settlement patterns again. People living in the Foothills area either retreated to the rivers or moved to more secure locations at higher elevations centered around good springs and soils with better water retention. By the late 1000s, they were beginning to transition out of pithouses into

One of the Small Compounds at Sears-Kay Ruin Rooms at the Top of Sears-Kay Ruin

SEARS-KAY RUIN & THE DESERT FOOTHILLS,

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The “Mystery Room” at Sears-Kay Ruin

surfacebuilt masonry houses. Several of the ceremonial enclosures, including SearsKay Ruin and another one on the southern flank of Apache Mountain, were turned into defensive settlements, reflecting a period of strife and social change within Hohokam culture that spread across all of central and southern Arizona. After about 1150, most folks had moved out of the lower desert side of the Foothills to places like Spur Cross, upper Cave Creek, and Seven Springs. Eventually, the Great Drought of 12751300 AD forced the final prehistoric abandonment of the whole Desert Foothills area. Some probably moved into the still flourishing towns along the Salt River, but many appear to have moved north to Perry Mesa, where they built large masonry roomblock villages during the 14th century.

Most of the archaeological sites in the Foothills area were used on a shortterm or seasonal basis by one or two families. Some, particularly those with dependable water or a strategic location, eventually developed into permanent villages with multiple family groups. There are several such settlements clustered around the eastern side of Desert Mountain. One of these, the Casanova Site along Blue Wash, consisted of a cluster of four walled compounds containing about 20 rooms. The nearby Carefree Site, excavated for a Forest Service land exchange in the 1980s, was a sprawling village containing dozens of rooms. There is also a cluster of similar sites along Camp Creek Wash, the largest of which is, of course, the fortified hilltop community of SearsKay Ruin made up of about 40 rooms in six compounds strung out along the ridge.

The archaeological sites of the Desert Foothills area represent important developments and periods in the prehistory of central Arizona. Please join with the Friends of the Tonto (friendsofthetonto.org) and their friends and partners in Desert Mountain and the Desperados Trail Scouts to preserve them for future generations.

SearsKay Ruin is located just off the Seven Springs Road, 6 miles east of Carefree and 2.8 miles north of the Bartlett Lake Road junction; there’s a sign at the entrance. The paved parking area has several picnic ramadas, grills, and a restroom. From the trailhead the site can be reached by foot along a steep trail about ½ mile long. Signs along the selfguided trail will take you through the ruins. The tour takes about an hour – and it’s free!

A Small Homestead near the Head of Grapevine Wash